The article, more than half page in length, described the white and pink sand beaches, the well-preserved coral reef, the warm hospitality of the Bahamian people, and the tranquility of the island as already a vacation home to celebrities.
It also revealed that Eleuthera is already receiving a lot of attention among international travelers and travel agents, and that Continental Airlines is adding additional flights to accommodate travelers to this vacation spot.
The article also foreshadows the opening of the 73-room Starwood hotel at the end of 2006.
“By the end of the year, a $550 a night, 73-room Starwood hotel with flat screen TVs and private outdoor hot tubs is scheduled to open. It’s the latest example of the booming luxury-travel industry reaching into every available stretch of beachfront in the Caribbean region,” said the article.
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the legacy of Eleuthera as a major vacation destination dating back to the 1960s, when the Cotton Bay Club was the place where “the Who’s Who went barefoot in The Bahamas.”
“The island experienced an earlier wave of tourism in the 1960’s, promoted by Pan American World Airways founder, Juan Trippe’s decision to build an airport on the island. Other high profile regulars included Jacques Cousteau and members of the British Royal Family.”
This resurgence spells great news for The Bahamas, and the developers of, and investors in, Cotton Bay Villas are delighted with the positive pronouncements for the island.
One such investor, Sir Orville Turnquest, in responding to the Wall Street Journal’s article said “having just toured the facility, observed the eco-sensitive manner in which this project is unfolding as a world-class resort, it is clear to me why prominent sectors of the global press are focusing on Eleuthera in general and Cotton Bay in particular. It is a very special place.”
Another investor, Dr. Earl Cash, a senior at Higgs & Johnson said that “the recent endorsements by the most prestigious publications in the world are a true credit to the people of Eleuthera because in each article the friendliness of the people is highlighted. It also endorses the vision of the founders of Eleuthera Properties Limited(EPL), building on the legacy which helped to make the original Cotton Bay the place where the Who’s Who went barefoot in The Bahamas.”
This endorsement by the Wall Street Journal comes on the heel of an earlier announcement in Travel & Leisure Magazine, the world’s #1 travel magazine, January 2006 edition, which ranked Eleuthera among the top five up- and- coming destinations to visit in 2006. This information was revealed during an interview on the popular NBC “Today” Show, between Laura Begley, Travel & Leisure’s Senior Editor and NBC’s Matt Lauer, co-anchor for the “Today” Show.
During the interview, Begley stated that Eleuthera was selected because of its amazing white sands, and natural beauty, and the fact that by year-end Starwood’s luxury eco-sensitive, Bahamian-owned resort would be opened.
The developers of Cotton Bay Villas, Eleuthera are committed to the environmental integrity of the resort, and therefore the resort will be home to a plant nursery and an on-site horticulturist, dedicated to nurturing the property, saving trees and other foliage from cleared land for replanting throughout the development.
This approach to development has earned for the Cotton Bay the distinction of being the first Bahamian resort to gain membership in the Audubon International Signature Program, a program which acknowledges environmentally-friendly developments.
In July 2005, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, announced that Cotton Bay would be added to its Luxury Collection, making it the first Bahamian property to earn this distinction. Starwood operates over 750 properties in more than 80 countries around the world.
Source: The Bahama Journal
